Monthly Archives: March 2010

One of the things that I pride myself on is my signed baseball collection. Started around the same time of this blog, I owned jus two autographed baseballs 20 months ago. That collection has blossomed into 24 as of today.

But the original 2, the two that I have moved from 5 different homes into the one I am living in now, the 2 that I have owned for more than 20 years, are the pride and joy of my collection.

Ball #1 is my Andre Dawson ’87 NL MVP ball. Ball #2 is my signed Billy Williams ball. Both balls were signed for me in-person when I attended a Chicago Cubs convention back in the late 1980’s. When on display in my home office, these 2 baseballs sit perched on the top row.

But the more I look at these two baseballs, and my whole collection for that matter, I am starting to think it may be time for an upgrade.

So what I mean? While both of the autographs are on Rawlings official game balls, the Dawson one still looks mint and crisp. And the Williams ball looks like it has seen better days. Discolored and with a look of being used, I cannot tell you the story of the ball, only that I don’t ever recall it looking as fresh and clean as its neighbor.

I know that Billy Williams has signed TTM in the past if donations are included. And I have the address. So, what do I do with it?

I am torn on this one. Keep one of my prized possessions and hang onto a ball that looks odd amongst the others in my collection? Or upgrade and put the ‘old’ one to rest??

Didn’t know what to expect when I arrived. Figured that most of the starters would be at the away game in Tucson. However, the only starter to travel was Loney. The rest were back in Glendale. And this time I would only have to battle a few dozen people. It sure is a lot different when you’re not competing with a million other graphers.

Don Mattingly: 1/1 (Beckett magazine from 1990)…signs daily but for some reason only in one spot. “You guys know where I do it.”Chad Billingsley: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)….Real friendly guy. Signed for at least 20 minutes after the workoutHiroki Kuroda: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)Clayton Kershaw: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)Andre Ethier: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)Matt Kemp: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)…had the ROMLB ready but this time he was SPing. not sure why because the other day at A’s he was giving SSsRuss Martin: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)…he stopped his car on the way out of the parking lot and was VERY friendlyManny Ramirez: 0/1…while riding a three-wheeler back to the clubhouse….would’ve been the perfect time to do it because there were only a handful of graphers there

A’s at White Sox
Glendale, Ariz.
11:30-4

Kevin Kouzmanoff: 1/1 (’09 Ginter)….graph worse than the one he gave me a few days ago. This time it was just “KK”Coco Crisp: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)…great dude. asked him to tell me how he got the Coco nickname (his real name is Covelli) but he said it was a long story….took pics with…even shouted into someone’s cell phoneKurt Suzuki: 1/1 (’09 Ginter)….a bit weird, in addition to being difficult, when I saw him in NYC. but very cool todayDaric Barton: 1/1 (’08 Ginter state card)….only a handful of people even cared about getting his graph yet he couldn’t do his second ’08 Ginter. “I told you I’m only doing one.” weird dude.Eric Chavez: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)Ozzie Guillen: 1/1 (’89 Donruss DK)…i like his graphJake Peavy: 1/2 (’08 Ginter). would’ve gotten him on SS but didn’t want another ball that had no Cy inscription. got lucky again as I left the game in the 6th inning and got Peavy two minutes later in the parking lotMark Buehrle: 1/1 (’08 Ginter)…he couldn’t have been cooler. going to get his perfect game 8×10 done next

Eric Hosmer: 1/1 (8×10 with help). Didn’t want to bother doing the minors ‘cuz I wanted to graph the majors as soon as I arrived. So a big thank-you to Tony, a local grapher, for the helpGrady Sizemore: 1/1 (Rich Abel 5×7 that I’ve had since ’02)..Mine was the only graph he signed all night…I’ll have plenty of time to get his Ginter done since I’m seeing the Indians two more times before I leaveYuniesky Betancourt: 0/1Billy Butler: 0/1..wouldn’t even acknowledge meMike Aviles: 0/1…wouldn’t even acknowledge meZack Greinke: 0/1, 0/1, 0/1, 0/1…only signing team balls. and even then he was killing them all with a black Sharpie. weird dude.Rick Ankiel: 0/1….he did sign a bit but I missed him because I was getting Sizemore

Other: Ernie Young was at the A’s-Sox game, but I had nothing for him. … I have to plug AZ Cards. Stopped by there a few days ago and had a long talk with proprietor Donald Yost, who promptly gave me two free tickets to today’s White Sox game. The store is loaded with cool stuff and has the best prices on ROMLBs in all of Phoenix. … Bob Feller signed autographs for free at the Indians-Royals game in Surprise. I’ve gotten the guy so many times that I didn’t even bother. … Talked to Jordan Danks briefly while waiting outside the player parking lot. Real polite kid.

I got these cards back in the mail 112 days after sending them out and now I am half-way done collecting the autographs from one of the greatest infields of any era in professional baseball. Ron Cey was the first, and now Bill Russell signs for me too!!

Bill Russell bleeds ‘Dodger Blue’, and he was an anchor at shortstop for many of the successful Dodger teams of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

An 18-year veteran, Russell suited up for just one team during his playing days. He made 4 trips to the World Series with them, in 1974, 1977, 1978, and then finally winning a title in 1981. He was a 3-time All-star due to his solid all-around play that included speed on the base paths, solid hitting, and excellent defense.

Dennis Doyle – Doyle, an 8-year veteran that suited up for 3 teams during his playing days, was a nice defensive player. For his career, he was a .250 hitter. He collected 823 hits during his career, including 113 doubles and 16 homers. Doyle scored 357 runs, drove in 237, and was able to swipe 23 bases. He played for the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 World Series. He hit .267 while tallying 8 hits and scoring 3 runs in the 7-game series.

Larry Bowa – Bowa’s career was punctuated by being named to 5 All-star teams while also winning 2 Gold Glove awards. A highly skilled defender, Bowa used his speed well on the field. His fast feet helped him amass 318 stolen bases while also scoring 987 runs. A lifetime .260 hitter, Bowa collected 2,191 during his playing days. Bowa was part of the 1980 World Series championship Phillies team. In that series, he hit .316 while amassing 9 hits and scoring 3 runs for the champs!

It has been well documented on ’30-YOC’ that I am a Mark Grace fan and loyalist. Heck, when I first got back into collecting, my first two purchases were bulk lots of his rookie cards that I found on Ebay.

So why not go all out and add him to my list of player collections? Well, to put it bluntly, I am scared.

Let me explain.

When I first entered the hobby of baseball card collecting as an 8-year old kid, there were 3 major brands of cards being issued. And by the end of the 1980’s, 3 became 6. And just a few short years later, 6 turned into too many to count. In fact, it was the rapid expansion and loss of feeling like a complete collector that drove me away from the hobby in the early 1990’s.

But now I am back, and I am focused. I try to stick to my guns when it comes to the cards I want to collect. Chosing to be a player collector and honor the heroes of my youth and the generation prior helps in my efforts as I know and am comfortable with the cards from those times.

And now that leads me to Mark Grace. I have already collected all of his rookie cards issued by major brands in 1988. I want more, I want a lot more. I want to honor him in the same way that I have done for Greg Maddux, and Dave Winfield, and Rickey Henderson. The only problem is that a majority of Grace’s cards were issued during the 1990’s and that means uncharted waters for me.

And yes, I have cards of Paul Molitor, and Orel Hershiser, and Tim Raines from that decade, but they are limited – and certainly not a whole decades worth of issues!!

So, what do I do?? Bite the bullet and dive in? Stay true to my basic rules and avoid the cumbersome number of cards issued during Grace’s career? What would you do?

Maybe I’ll just buy bulk lots of his cards on Ebay. That will definitely quench my appetite for some Grace cards. But will it cure my hunger???